244 ESSAYS AND LETFERS
The peoples, without any reasonable ground, and contrary alike to their conception of right and to their own advantage, not only sympathize with Governments in their attacks on other nations, in their seizures of foreign possessions, and in defending by force what they have already stolen, but even themselves demand such attacks, seizures, and defences : are glad of them, and take pride in them. The small oppressed nation- alities which have fallen under the power of the great States — the Poles, Irish, Bohemians, Finns, or Arme- nians — resenting the patriotism of their conquerors, which is the cause of their oppression, catch from them the infection of this feeling of patriotism — which has ceased to be necessary, and is now obsolete, unmean- ing, and harmful — and catch it to such a degree that all their activity is concentrated upon it, and they, themselves suffering from the patriotism of the stronger nations, are ready, for the sake of patriotism, to per- petrate on other peoples the very same deeds that their oppressors have perpetrated and are perpetrating on them.
This occurs because the ruling classes (including not only the actual rulers with their officials, but all the classes who enjoy an exceptionally advantageous posi- tion : the capitalists, journalists, and most of the artists and scientists) can retain their position — exceptionally advantageous in comparison with that of the labouring masses — thanks only to the Government organization, which rests on patriotism. They have in their hands all the most powerful means of influencing the people, and always sedulously support patriotic feelings in them- selves and in others, more especially as those feelings which uphold the Government's power are those that are always best rewarded by that power.
Every official prospers the more in his career, the more patriotic he is ; so also the army man gets promo- tion in time of war — the war is produced by patriotism.
Patriotism and its result — wars — give an enormous revenue to the newspaper trade, and profits to many other trades. Every writer, teacher, and professor is
